Letter: Failure to choose life diminishes celebration

I had begun to read Rod Watson’s July 4 column with interest until I realized that I was sinking into an unrestrained liberal quicksand.

In case it had not occurred to him, there is another significant group that did not march in the Independence Day parade – the 50 million-plus innocent children whose untimely death in their mothers’ womb was made legal by Roe v. Wade, which misguidedly elevated the right to privacy over the right to life. I, too, did not march, in part because I want to stand in solidarity with the 50 million-plus who cannot.

I find Watson’s defense of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attempt to codify Roe v. Wade in New York law inconsistent with his purported devotion to equality and human rights. Current state law and its proposed amendment read as follows: “A ‘justifiable abortional act’ is currently defined in New York State as one which is performed by a duly licensed physician acting either within 24 weeks from the commencement of the pregnancy or, if after 24 weeks, under a reasonable belief that such act is necessary to preserve the woman’s life. … Senate Bill S.5881 proposed defining this act as one which is performed by a duly licensed physician acting either within 24 weeks from the commencement of the pregnancy or, if after 24 weeks, under a reasonable belief that such act is necessary to preserve the woman’s life or health.”

Where is the equal right to life of the unborn baby? I sincerely hope we do not have to wait another “226 years to get it right.” Our failure, as a nation, to choose life over privacy, or even convenience, will render any allusion to national greatness meaningless.